300 Rejections: Malaysian Indian Woman’s Struggle With Housing Discrimination

Despite having a solid credit history and a reputable track record of maintaining cleanliness, Indians are often rejected by landlords and agents based solely on their ethnicity.

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The Indian community in Malaysia has been facing a long-standing issue of finding suitable housing, with racial discrimination exacerbating the problem.

Recently, a Malaysian Indian woman who handles @ayividinihsrad on X (formerly Twitter), shared her experiences securing rental accommodation in the country.

She claimed that despite being a verified user with a solid credit history and a reputable track record of maintaining cleanliness, she was rejected by 300 different agents and landlords based solely on her ethnicity.

To every Malaysian Indian who sees this, quote with your experience trying to rent a house/room. I'll start.

As of today, I contacted about 300 agents and landlords who denied me simply because I'm Indian. I'm not religious. Every person who rejected my request despite me having… https://t.co/esPOzpTpIK
— D (@ayividinihsrad) October 20, 2023

“What’s disheartening is that every person who turned down my requests happened to be Malaysian Chinese,” she wrote.

Her post has gained considerable attention, amassing nearly 500,000 views.

Widespread Issue: Not an Isolated Incident

The Indian community has struggled with housing discrimination for years, and the issue is not limited to renting homes or rooms.

Several netizens have pointed out that this issue could be attributed to stereotypes associated with Indians, including playing loud music, drinking, excessive noise at odd hours, smoking pollution, inability to pay rent on time, and poor hygiene.

However, such generalizations are unfair and unjustified even if there had been such cases.

It did not help that social media are filled with postings that paint the Indian community negatively.

Penyewa rumah aku last time adalah doktor, india, tak bayar sewa rumah berbulan2, siap mengaku kat jiran2 yang itu rumah dia. Pada suatu malam dia lari dari rumah tu bawak barang2 naik lori. Time kami bersihkan rumah tu, ada satu bilik yang penuh dengan taik anjing. Penuh dengan… https://t.co/T4m22aM0XI
— ✨Pendapat Terpaling Matter✨ (@__loveshak) October 20, 2023

I kind of agree with this. I dah stay bilik sewa for 10 years. Recently my landlord got an India girl as our new housemate. It was horrible. Balik rumah hempas pintu, hempas pintu tandas, hempas pintu bilik. Semua pintu la dia hempas… Lepas tu- https://t.co/hiMi6vhn6S
— Yuya Sama (@yuya_anime88) October 21, 2023

Breaking Barriers: Ensuring Equal Housing Rights for the Indian Community in Malaysia

The authorities must immediately address this problem and ensure everyone has equal access to housing.

The Indian community deserves to be treated with dignity and respect, and their housing rights should not be violated due to discrimination.

Now is the time for all Malaysians to unite in rejecting any form of racial discrimination.

We can foster a society that embraces inclusivity, diversity, and harmony by working together.

Through collective efforts, we can create a future where everyone, regardless of their background or ethnicity, can enjoy equal housing rights and live in a society that values and respects the principles of equality and human rights.